All stories by Jonathan Mandell on BroadwayStars

Friday, February 18, 2022

The Music Man Review. Hugh Jackman, Sutton Foster and an American con by Jonathan Mandell

It's no mystery why Meredith Willson's 1957 musical is so beloved: The songs are terrifically tuneful, the lyrics terribly clever.  But the story of a con artist who in 1912 seduces…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 05:06PM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 17, 2022

Bringing Back Bert Williams, the First Black Superstar by Jonathan Mandell

Bert Williams was, according to his friend W.C. Fields, "the funniest man I ever saw and the saddest man I ever knew." Williams was probably the most popular African-American entertainer at …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:30PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, February 15, 2022

Black No More Review by Jonathan Mandell

Everything about "Black No More" sounded promising " a new musical inspired by a 1931 satiric novel of the same name that imagines what America would be like if there were a machine th…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:08PM[SHARE]
Monday, February 14, 2022

The Stage Kiss is Back for Valentine's Day! Beetlejuice, Macbeth complete casts. The Lark lives on! #Stageworthy News of the Week by Jonathan Mandell

On Valentine's Day, when thoughts (at least) turn to kissing, it's a good time to note the return of the stage kiss. There may not be as much kissing at all in new in-person shows, and kisse…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 12:29PM[SHARE]
Friday, February 11, 2022

Arden Review. The Flea Theater returns, after trauma by Jonathan Mandell

"This place is fraught," Niegel Smith, the artistic director of The Flea, was saying at the beginning of "Arden," the first production by the Off-Off Broadway theater company after almost tw…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 07:03PM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 10, 2022

Long Day's Journey into Night: Abridged and Updated by Jonathan Mandell

 James Tyrone (Bill Camp) is wearing a face mask and shorts, and bringing home Starbucks takeout, while Mary Tyrone (Elizabeth Marvel), in sweatpants, is doing yoga, near a pile of …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:15AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, February 8, 2022

94th annual Oscar nominations: West Side Story, Andrew Garfield, Troy Kotsur, Lin-Manuel Miranda. by Jonathan Mandell

BEST PICTUREBelfastCODADon't Look UpDrive My CarDuneKing RichardLicorice PizzaNightmare AlleyThe Power of the DogWest Side Story BEST DIRECTORPaul Thomas Anderson (Licorice Pizza)Kenneth Bra…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:17AM[SHARE]
Monday, February 7, 2022

Tambo & Bones Review. From Minstrel Clowns to Rap Stars by Jonathan Mandell

Both Tambo and Bones are dressed in the clownish rags of minstrel show performers, while Tambo is explaining to Bones how to get white people to give up their quarters: "You gotta deliver a …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:24PM[SHARE]

Funny Girl, Plaza Suite Complete Casts. Danai Gurira as Shakespearean Villain. 15 Broadway Openings in April! #Stageworthy News of the Week by Jonathan Mandell

It's been a busy week for New York theater. See the seven reviews below, from "MJ" on Broadway and "The Tap Dance Kid" to "Shhhh" and "The Hang" downtown; and not one but two shows adapted i…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 12:03PM[SHARE]
Saturday, February 5, 2022

Broadway Opening Night. What It Means. How It's Changed. 7 Facts to Clear Up The Confusion and Crystallize the Outrage. by Jonathan Mandell

When the publicists for the Broadway revival of "The Music Man" starring Hugh Jackman announced that theater critics had to see the show on opening night, the pushback might have baffled peo…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 04:31PM[SHARE]
Friday, February 4, 2022

Intimate Apparel Opera Review. Longing for Love. by Jonathan Mandell

There are two heartbreaking moments in "Intimate Apparel,"  one exquisite, the other devastating, that eventually won me over to this production at Lincoln Center. But much earlier I s…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 06:34PM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 3, 2022

The Tap Dance Kid at Encores! Review by Jonathan Mandell

In "The Tap Dance Kid," a young  Black girl named Emma wants to be a lawyer " prescient for a Broadway musical that debuted in 1983; that would make the character just about the right …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 05:59PM[SHARE]

The Hang Review. Socrates' final gig: The best (and not best) of Taylor Mac  by Jonathan Mandell

"The Hang" is terrific entertainment. It is a jazz opera, performed by a wondrous nine-member ensemble and versatile eight-piece band,  with an intensely sensual score by Matt Ra…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 04:13PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, February 1, 2022

MJ The Musical Review: Michael Jackson as Thriller, not Dangerous by Jonathan Mandell

"With respect, I wanna keep this about my music," Michael Jackson (Myles Frost) says near the start of "MJ The Musical." And that's what this show, opening tonight on Broadway, certainly …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:20PM[SHARE]

Antisemitism on Stage: Prayer for the French Republic and The Garden of the Finzi-Continis Reviews by Jonathan Mandell

The best thing to be said about these two new theatrical works is also the worst thing " that their exploration of antisemitism is well-timed and necessary. If they have little else in commo…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 05:26PM[SHARE]
Monday, January 31, 2022

Shhhh Review: Clare Barron's visceral play by Jonathan Mandell

Only once does anyone call anything "disgusting" in "Shhhh,"  a play written, directed and starring Clare Barron that seems designed to make theatergoers uncomfortable*. Kyle (Greg Kel…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 06:01PM[SHARE]

The Gilded Age, Broadway Employment Agency. Susan Smith Blackburn Finalists. #Stageworthy News of the Week by Jonathan Mandell

"The Gilded Age," the HBO series that began last week, employs an army of Broadway veterans to make a 19th century New York City version of "Downton Abbey" (both series were created by Julia…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:49AM[SHARE]
Sunday, January 30, 2022

New York Theater Openings Scheduled for February 2022 by Jonathan Mandell

Below is a day-by-day selection of theater openings scheduled for February organized by opening date*, featuring two big Broadway musicals " MJ the Musical and The Music Man " and a bu…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 01:27PM[SHARE]
Saturday, January 29, 2022

New York Theater Quiz for January 2022: Unprecedented! by Jonathan Mandell

Answer the ten questions to find out how well you paid attention to the goings-on in New York theater in the month of January, some of it unprecedented. Loading…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 04:10PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Skeleton Crew on Broadway Review by Jonathan Mandell

As Faye, Phylicia Rashad has lost her health, her house, her family, and is in danger of losing the job she's held for 29 years. "I'm runnin' on soul now Reggie," she tells her foreman. "…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 06:40PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, January 25, 2022

5 Exponential Festival 2022 Videos and Reviews by Jonathan Mandell

Below are the videos of five entries in the sixth annual Exponential festival, which has gone completely digital this year and largely loopy.  I've written brief reviews, but I try to …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 03:55PM[SHARE]
Monday, January 24, 2022

#Stageworthy News This Week: Harry Potter Fired. Antisemitism on Stage by Jonathan Mandell

The current rise of antisemitism is suddenly getting stage time. Last week: "Witness,"  which explored the doomed 1939 voyage of the German Jewish refugees aboard the St. Louis and exp…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 12:58PM[SHARE]
Thursday, January 20, 2022

Addressless Theater Review. The Game of Finding an Apartment in NYC by Jonathan Mandell

In "Addressless,"  the audience helps three characters navigate the tricky path to getting an affordable apartment in New York City. This is a daunting challenge for anyone. But it's a…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:48PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, January 19, 2022

Reopening The Broadway Revival on PBS. The Downside to #BroadwayisBack Boosterism  by Jonathan Mandell

In "Reopening: The Broadway Revival," an hour-long documentary on PBS that's a bit painful and embarrassing to watch, actor Andrew Rannells compares the start of the shutdown of Broadw…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:52AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, January 18, 2022

Broadway Week! A Strange Loop and The Kite Runner! Ariana DeBose and Lynn Nottage! Digital! #Stageworthy News This Week. by Jonathan Mandell

Broadway Week launches today, but this has not been Broadway's week.  Two more Broadway shows joined "Mrs. Doubtfire" in announcing a hiatus. "To Kill A Mockingbird" ended its run S…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 01:15PM[SHARE]
Monday, January 17, 2022

Martin Luther King Jr. Drum Major Instinct Speech: "Say that I was a drum major for justice" by Jonathan Mandell

Below is a recording and the text of a sermon that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered on February 4 1968 at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia exactly two months before h…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:22AM[SHARE]
Sunday, January 16, 2022

Theater Reviews: Witness and This Beautiful Future. Two takes on the Holocaust, indirectly by Jonathan Mandell

The night I saw "Witness," a rabbi and several members of his congregation were being held hostage in a synagogue near Fort Worth, Texas. The live scene of the police gathered on the street …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 03:43PM[SHARE]
Friday, January 14, 2022

Digital Theater To Watch This Weekend: 5 Top Picks, and 10 others worth checking out by Jonathan Mandell

Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand do Shakespeare….online. Uzo Aduba is villainous simultaneously on Broadway…and online. A celebration of Sondheim; horrid, strange and theatrical m…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 02:17PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, January 12, 2022

Kevin R. Free appointed artistic director of a SECOND theater. "I'm never not busy" by Jonathan Mandell

Kevin R. Free, who is one of the busiest theater artists I know" actor, playwright, director, producer, mentor, teacher, audiobook narrator " has taken on two new jobs…. both of them artis…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:03PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, January 11, 2022

The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe Review. Cecily Strong Takes Over Lily Tomlin's Characters by Jonathan Mandell

Trudy, a crazy bag lady who is one of the 11 characters that Cecily Strong portrays in this one-woman play originally performed by Lily Tomlin, tells us she brought her "space chums" " alien…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 07:55PM[SHARE]
Monday, January 10, 2022

Theater Triumphs on Screen. Amid In-Person Cancellations, Digital Theater Makes A Comeback. #Stageworthy Week by Jonathan Mandell

Given all the cancellations and delays caused by the Omicron variant surge (see news below),  digital theater is suddenly looking good again (see reviews below.) If the theater news th…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 02:12PM[SHARE]

All that Chat

2025-2026 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 12, 2025: Call Me Izzy - Studio 54
Sep 16, 2025: Art - Music Box Theatre
Oct 08, 2025: Beetlejuice - Palace Theatre
Nov 13, 2025: Oedipus - Studio 54
Nov 16, 2025: Chess - Imperial Theatre
Mar 23, 2026: Giant - Music Box Theatre
Apr 06, 2026: Becky Shaw - Hayes Theater
Apr 16, 2026: Proof - Booth Theatre
Apr 26, 2026: Drama Desk Cut-Off